Budget and Financial Strategy 2021-22 - Appendices

Appendices to Budget and Financial Strategy 2021-22

Contents

Appendix 1 - Special Expenses
Appendix 2 - Revenue Budget Service Summary
Appendix 3 - Transformation Strategy and Efficiency Plan 2021/22 - 2025/26
Appendix 4 - Capital Programme 2021/22 (including appraisals)
Appendix 5 - Capital and Investment Strategy 2021/22 - 2025/26
Appendix 6 - Use of Earmarked Reserves 2021/22
Appendix 7 - Pay Policy Statement 2021/22

Appendix 1 - Special Expenses

Funding Analysis for special Expense Areas
Description	2020/21 £	2021/22 £	Percentage Change
West Bridgford	-	-	-
Parks and Playing Fields	404,400	398,900	-
West Bridgford Town Centre	55,900	91,400	-
Community Halls	68,700	56,900	-
Contingency	14,700	14,700	-
Revenue Contribution to Capital Outlay	50,000	50,000	-
Annuity Charges	76,800	80,700	-
Sinking Fund	20,000	20,000	-
Total	690,500	712,600	-
Tax Base	14,233.5	14,353.8	-
Special Expense Tax	48.51	49.62	2.35%
Keyworth	-	-	-
Cemetery and Annuity Charges	8,800	7,900	-
Annuity	1,300	1,300	-
Total	10,100	9,200	-
Tax Base	2,689.7	2,700.6	-
Special Expense Tax	3.76	3.41	-9.31%
Ruddington	-	-	-
Cemetery and Annuity Charges	11,300	11,100	-
Total	11,300	11,100	-
Tax Base	2,743.9	2,777.5	-
Special Expense Tax	4.12	4.00	-2.91%
Total Special Expenses	711,900	732,900	-

Appendix 2 - Revenue Budget Service Summary

Revenue Budget Summary
Description	2020/21 £	2021/22 Estimate £	2022/23 Estimate £	2023/24 Estimate £	2024/25 Estimate £	2025/26 Estimate £
Communities	2,907,200	3,458,900	3,387,900	3,246,400	3,246,700	3,270,600
Finance and Corporate Services	3,442,800	3,244,200	3,305,900	3,527,200	3,392,000	3,459,500
Neighbourhoods	6,520,700	6,749,500	6,195,000	5,746,600	5,714,400	5,699,900
Transformation	2,000	(179,800)	(265,300)	(343,000)	(344,600)	(326,100)
Net Service Expenditure	12,872,700	13,272,800	12,623,500	12,177,200	12,026,500	12,103,900
Capital Accounting Adjustments	(2,130,600)	(1,767,600)	(1,767,600)	(1,767,600)	(1,767,600)	(1,767,600)
Minimum Revenue Provision	1,000,000	1,074,000	1,274,000	1,274,000	1,000,000	1,250,000
Revenue Contribution to Capital	146,800	0	0	0	0	0
Transfer to/(from) Reserves	1,859,200	(3,034,000)	(197,000)	(1,111,000)	(530,000)	(355,000)
Total Net Service Expenditure	13,748,100	9,545,200	11,932,900	10,572,600	10,728,900	11,231,300
Funding	-	-	-	-	-	-
Other Grant Income	(17,500)	(1,129,700)	0	0	0	0
Localised Business Rates, includes SBRR	(3,984,300)	(2,819,600)	(2,927,500)	(2,978,000)	(2,835,900)	(2,892,600)
Collection Fund	(444,500)	4,045,000	51,000	51,000	0	0
Council Tax Income	-	-	-	-	-	-
Rushcliffe	(6,278,800)	(6,522,100)	(6,876,000)	(7,241,500)	(7,618,800)	(8,008,300)
Special Expenses Areas	(711,900)	(732,900)	(732,900)	(732,900)	(732,900)	(732,900)
New Homes Bonus	(2,311,100)	(1,632,900)	(653,100)	0	0	0
Total Funding	(13,748,100)	(8,792,200)	(11,138,500)	(10,901,400)	(11,187,600)	(11,633,800)
Net Budget (surplus) / deficit	0	753,000	794,400	(328,800)	(458,700)	(402,500)

Appendix 3 - Transformation Strategy and Efficiency Plan 2021/22 - 2025/26

Introduction

The Council has consistently embraced a Transformation agenda and Efficiency Plan. In 2010, the Council adopted an original 4 Year Plan which set out a measured approach to meeting the emerging financial challenges. The plan was written to identify cost efficiencies, increase income opportunities and develop transformational alternatives for the future delivery of services. The adopted approach aimed to reduce overall expenditure by £2.8m over the original life of the Plan. This approach was reinforced in 2012 with the publication of our Corporate Strategy subtitled ‘Proactively Preparing for the Future’.

The Transformation Programme since its inception and going forward aims to support the delivery of over £5.4m in efficiencies. In making our savings, services to residents in some cases have been changed from universally free services towards chargeable choice-based services. Other services have been streamlined, to be even more efficient and leaner. Costs have been reduced through rationalisation of assets and staff, with the sharing of both posts and key services. The Council also absorbs inflation increases across many areas except where there is contractual inflation or areas of higher risk. For 2021/22 this is estimated at £105k. Concurrently, we have made it easier for customers to transact their business with us at a time and in a way that suits them. We have done all of this without significantly impacting on service quality or resident satisfaction. Our latest resident polling data shows us that 83% of residents are satisfied with Rushcliffe as a place to live and 63% of residents are satisfied with the way the Council runs its services. (2018).

This revised Transformation Strategy sets out the Council’s approach to making further savings between now and 2025/26. It also explains our approach to identifying and working with partners, recognising and maximising opportunities, and leading the way in delivering high quality services that match the needs of residents. It is clear that as the organisation becomes leaner, it will become increasingly challenging to find further savings. Achieving the increased targets requires a bolder and more strategically focussed way of thinking.

Addressing the Funding Gap

Some of the more significant savings already achieved are:

Service Efficiencies – general review of services identifying structural and process efficiencies in addition to a detailed review of the budgets to identify further savings
Thematic – Savings achieved from the Leisure Strategy, renovation of Bridgford Hall and income generation from the Asset Investment Strategy
Income Reviews – Garden Waste, Car Parking and general review of Fees and Charges
Additional Savings – Income generated from investment projects, transfer of leisure provider to a community interest company and growth in planning income.

Whilst the Council has achieved significant savings, further savings are required to address the estimated funding gap particularly in the wake of Covid. It has been a challenging year and as such the balanced budget proposed relies substantially on the utilisation of reserves. Going forward identifying potential savings will be both more important and challenging. This revised Transformation Programme will form the basis of how the Council meets the financial challenge summarised in the table below.

Savings Targets

Savings Targets
Category	2021/22 £'000	2022/23 £'000	2023/24 £'000	2024/25 £'000	2025/26 £'000
Gross Budget Deficit excluding Transformation Plan	5,191	5,946	5,345	5,008	5,140
Cumulative Savings in Transformation Plan	4,185	4,668	5,171	5,319	5,431
Gross Budget Deficit / (Surplus)	1,006	1,278	174	(311)	(291)
Additional Transformation Plan savings	(253)	(483)	(503)	(148)	(112)
Net Budget Deficit / (Surplus)	753	795	(329)	(459)	(403)

In order to deliver a balanced budget for 2021/22 the Council has looked to constrain Council spend and increase income. The Council have also procured two brand new business units at Edwalton Business Park which will generate revenue in the form of rental receipts. The Council continues to review how it delivers its services and meet the funding gap. Other arrangements exist with neighbouring authorities such as the Building Control partnership with South Kesteven and Newark & Sherwood, and creating companies, such as Streetwise and looking to expand its company base through Rushcliffe Enterprises Ltd. The Council continues to identify innovative ways of delivering its services more economically, efficiently and effectively, including collaboration where a business case supports such an initiative.

Moving forward, this momentum must continue, and the Council’s key transformation projects need to be reviewed on an on-going annual basis. While the Council has identified a range of projects that can be used to deliver the anticipated savings required, this remains a challenging exercise. The current transformation projects which will be worked upon for delivery from 2021/22 are given at Appendix B. Some of the more significant projects include:

Income streams from investments made through the Asset Investment Strategy (e.g. Edwalton Business Park units as mentioned above);
The development of a crematorium;
The continued activation of the Leisure Strategy focusing on the options for leisure provision in Bingham and surrounding area;
Commercialisation: maximising asset usage, sponsorship and Leisure Community Interest Company; and
Cyclical reviews of all service areas including staff savings from natural wastage.

It should be noted there is guidance on the capitalisation of transformation costs where an income stream is generated. It relates to set-up and implementation costs not on-going savings. These should be reported through this document. This Strategy can be revised at any time by Full Council and as part of our Treasury Management Strategy reporting we must show the impact on our prudential indicators

Rushcliffe's Core Operating Principles

Rushcliffe has three core principles which underpin its approach to transformation:

income generation and maximisation
business cost reduction
service redesign

Transformation has been achieved to date by focusing on a ‘one’ Council approach and great teamwork between Members and officers to limit the impact upon residents. However, we recognise to be successful in bridging the remaining funding gap it will be necessary to consider and implement large scale transformational change which can generate a large fiscal impact.

The Transformation Strategy is an evolving document and although it essentially covers the next five years it should not be bound by time or scope. To this end and within the emerging complex environment, three partnership models have been identified to provide a framework to generate further efficiencies. These are covered in more detail in Appendix A.

An Integrated Approach to Transformation

This Strategy formalises the Council’s integrated approach to transformation. It highlights the work that has been, and continues to be, done in the last seven years to deliver over £5.4m in efficiencies and formalises the Council’s principles of partnership working (detailed at Appendix A). At a strategic level it highlights the important relationship between:

The Council’s Corporate Strategy – which provides the overall direction of the Council, its core values and its four key priorities,

The Medium-Term Financial Plan – a defined plan of how the authority will work towards a balanced budget and maintain viability,

The Transformation Strategy – a document providing direction in respect of the strategically focussed streams of work to meet the financial targets whilst fulfilling the Council’s corporate priorities. As the Transformation Strategy evolves Commercialism is emerging as cross cutting strategy, detailed in Appendix C, to support the sustained delivery of the financial targets.

This trio of documents can be influenced by external factors such as central government, public expectation and other stakeholders.

The Transformation Strategy

This document details the different areas of work officers and Members will focus upon to meet the stretching financial targets set whilst continuing to fulfil our corporate priorities. The diagram below highlights the different work streams and shows how they fit together over the next five years. Underpinning the work streams is our approach to Commercialism as documented at Appendix C.

Management Responsibility with Member Challenge

Each year, officers undertake an internal programme of investigations looking specifically at improving efficiency through different ways of working. We also challenge our budgets every year to drive out further savings whilst minimising the impact of front-line services. We have a strong leadership focused on corporate priorities using regular performance clinics to manage performance and budgets. We also ensure that every large-scale project (where there is deemed to be a significant impact on residents, staff or budgets) has its own project board and governance structure. Activities are challenged through Leader and Portfolio Holder briefings and constituted and established processes such as Member Groups. Reports on policy changes are passed through the Cabinet, and our Corporate Overview Group and other scrutiny groups regularly scrutinise review findings. Additional Member Groups are created by Cabinet where required. For example, the Bingham Member working group which allows for Member involvement in key decisions regarding the development of Bingham Hub.

Service Efficiencies

The culture at Rushcliffe has been to ensure different services are reviewed regularly to make sure they are as focused upon the customer and as streamlined as possible, any identified inefficiency removed from the system and where appropriate services are moved online. The way the service is delivered is also investigated and consideration is given to potential partnership opportunities or alternative methods of delivery to protect the services that residents value without a pre-determined view. Headline efficiency targets have been identified for each area of the Council and these are illustrated at Appendix B.

Management Challenge

The Service Efficiencies are strengthened by on-going management of the services through regular performance clinics and a management challenge as part of the annual budget setting process – each Executive Manager is charged with scrutinising their budget to identify any additional savings or remove unused budget. Again, top level targets have been identified where appropriate and these are illustrated in the table at Appendix B.

Members and Officers Working Together

The second element of our approach to Cmmercialism focuses on activities where Members and officers work together to identify further savings and different ways of working. These aspects of the Strategy have been arrived at through our budget proposals which have continued to be radical and challenging as we look at ways of bridging the financial gap by 2025/26. Budget workshops (both this year and in the past), incorporating Members from all political groups, have looked at what has been achieved so far, policy changes that can be made immediately to save money in the coming year, different ways of delivering services in the future, and more long-term ‘Thinking Big’ options that could significantly change the face of the Council and the services it delivers.

Immediate savings

Each year, Members are presented with a number of policy changes which hit one or more of our core principles of income generation and maximisation, business cost reduction or service redesign. These operational changes form part of the budget setting process each year and generally result in savings or additional income for the following year(s).

Member Involvement and Budget Workshops

As part of the budget setting process for 2021/22, Members discussed the impact of Covid 19 on the budget, options for Council tax increases and the impact on both capital and transformation programmes of significant capital projects namely the Crematorium and the Bingham Leisure Hub. These ‘Thinking Big’ ideas have the potential to contribute significantly to bridging the funding gap we are experiencing without reducing frontline services, but they are not decisions to be taken lightly which is why robust investigations are undertaken. Over the past few years there have been several “Thinking Big” initiatives including moving to the Arena, focusing on Fairham Pastures and the development of housing and employment land and the development of the Abbey Road Depot site. These are also subject to a combination of involvement of Growth Boards, Scrutiny work or Member Development Groups. The Asset Investment Strategy has paid dividends although the Council’s focus is now on maximising value for money from its existing assets.

Transformational Projects 2021-2026

As has already been mentioned above, this Strategy is a continuation of the Council’s original Transformation Programme and as a consequence a number of key projects which influence service delivery and finances over the next few years are already in progress. Good progress has been made with new Transformational Projects as mentioned above.

Going forwards, two major Transformational projects are:

redevelopment of Chapel Lane Site with the creation of a new leisure centre, community hall, and separate provision of office units; and
Provision of a Crematorium in Stragglethorpe.

Both of these schemes are embedded in the Corporate Strategy and fully embrace the Council’s four priorities:

Quality of Life
Efficient Services
Sustainable Growth
The Environment.

The leisure centre by providing high quality leisure and community facilities, as well as employment opportunities, to the growing population in the east of the Borough. The Crematorium will provide much needed community infrastructure and quality service delivery for Rushcliffe and the residents of neighbouring districts.

Leisure Strategy Activation

Since 2006, the Council’s Leisure Strategy highlighted the authority’s ambition to rationalise leisure facilities in West Bridgford to one site – Rushcliffe Arena and to consider the options for built leisure provision in the Bingham area. The new Arena leisure centre and Rushcliffe Borough Council’s new offices successfully opened in January 2017. The next phase of the Leisure Strategy focuses on the Bingham Hub. It is planned that Bingham Hub will be operational from 2022/23. The Council have secured funding from European Regional Development Funding Sustainable Urban Development (ERDF SUD) and D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to the value of £2.4m to support the development of Bingham Hub including a leisure centre, community hall and office building giving even more added value for the taxpayer.

Summary of the Transformation Strategy Work Programme

The Transformation Strategy Work Programme for the next five years and a framework within which the required efficiencies will be delivered:

Property Development
Bingham Hub
Fees and Charges
Crematorium
Abbey Road Depot

Asset Investment Strategy

Service Review and Efficiencies: 2021//22; 2022/23; 2023/24; 2024/25; 2025/26.

Governance

The original version of this strategy (2013) established a framework and timeframe for the individual projects within the programme. While in general these have been achieved, arrangements have been flexible to allow for unforeseen circumstances and to redirect resources to maximise opportunities as they have arisen. It is anticipated that these same principles of agile working will apply to the 2021-2026 rolling Transformation Programme.

Each project within the programme has appropriate governance arrangements depending on the size, complexity and risk. Overall, monitoring of the Strategy will take place quarterly by the Chief Executive and the Executive Management Team. Where it is required by individual projects, consultation and engagement with members of the public will take place.

The following risks have been identified and will be monitored accordingly.

Funding Analysis for special Expense Areas
Risk	Probability	Impact	Mitigation
Reviews do not achieve anticipated savings	Probable	Greater than £250k	Individual reviews where there is underachievement may be offset by others with higher savings.
Programme slippage	Possible	Greater than £250k	Monitoring of programme and taking early corrective action.
Insufficient capacity to undertake the programme	Possible	Greater than £250k	Procure extra resources – i.e. consultancy.
Insufficient interest from alternative providers	Possible	Negative	Find appropriate savings from direct service provision by quality reduction (probably).
Delay in anticipated savings or a reduction or removal of current savings due to Covid-19	Possible	Greater than £250k	Accurate profiling of efficiencies. Close monitoring of the environment (e.g. rising prices) that may affect the feasibility of projects and regular reviews on the commercial market (e.g. rental demand) in order to assess likelihood of income falling.

Conclusion

The above sets out Rushcliffe’s plans over the next five years and the Council’s commitment towards delivering these plans. This plan supports the Council’s MTFS and is the vehicle upon which the Council will achieve a balanced budget.

Appendix A - Rushcliffe's Accepted Models of Partnership Working

1. Localised Integrated Working Partnerships

These types of integrated delivery partnerships involve working with other agencies and organisations whose services are delivered to Rushcliffe Borough residents. These partnerships are aimed at improving the connectivity of public services, public regulation, reducing the need to cross-refer people and issues.

The Government has recognised and begun to embrace the value of partnerships of scope and is increasingly looking to realise both financial and customer benefits from these. Central Government policies around community safety, health outcomes, welfare reform and community budget pilots, all demonstrate recognition of the importance of different agencies working together in a single locality to benefit their residents.

Rushcliffe is a pioneer in this area. The successful development of the Rushcliffe Community Contact Centre which originally brought together joint customer services for the Police, Job Centre plus, voluntary sector, South Nottinghamshire College and other services has been recognised nationally. The transfer to a new location in West Bridgford now facilitates signposting support services to these partners. This approach has been supported by our ability to work in other locations on a remote access basis. The service was expanded into Bingham where an integrated delivery service model has been deployed and is being delivered from the new Health Centre. This has been further rolled out to Cotgrave and East Leake where the contact points are located in libraries, supporting extended opening times of libraries and increased remote access to the Customer Services Team.

There are also a range of projects underway involving our locality partners, which embed these principles and take services out into the community, including Positive Futures, Sunday Funday, Lark in the Park and Business Partnership events.

2. Partnerships of Scale

This term describes two or more organisations joining together largely to benefit from economies of scale. These partnerships can, like localised integrated working partnerships, drive efficiencies but they may not, in themselves, directly improve the way in which the service is delivered to Rushcliffe Borough residents. Opportunities exist in this area to share back office services, such as payroll, reducing costs and removing duplication whilst maintaining and improving capacity and resilience.

If scale partnerships are to be successful, previous experience has shown that there is a greater chance for success if they cover a broad range of services but are focussed and aligned on a small number of culturally similar and willing partners. It is possible to develop these partnerships organically – that is, as opportunities arise.

As mentioned above, to date partnerships of scale have developed organically – the Council has been successful in developing a number of such partnerships, of which the following, mostly back office services, have come to fruition:

payroll services (Gedling),
ICT (Broxtowe, Newark & Sherwood),
building control (South Kesteven, Newark & Sherwood),
procurement (Welland),
homelessness (Gedling), and
emergency planning (Nottinghamshire County Council).

Following continued encouragement from Central Government, there has been an increased willingness and determination from the Leaders within Nottinghamshire to forge closer partnerships of scale – agreement with Nottingham City Council to relocate Depot Services to operate out of Eastcroft. Further opportunities will be assessed as opportunities arise.

3. Partnerships for Governance

There has been a growth of place-based and themed partnership arrangements. These have largely been designed to implement and administer arrangements within defined areas focussed upon common objectives including: The Joint Planning and Advisory Board (Nottingham City, Nottinghamshire County Council, Broxtowe BC, Gedling BC, Erewash DC and Rushcliffe BC).

A recent and exciting development in Partnerships for Governance is the agreement by the Council to support the creation of an interim vehicle for the establishment of the East Midlands Development Corporation. This will entail commitment of a financial contribution from other affected local authorities and Government in a match funding arrangement. To this end, a Development Corporation Reserve of £500k has been created.

If the interim vehicle is established and supported with the required resources and expertise, the Development Corporation would attract nationally and internationally significant investment and development into the East Midlands and more specifically in to the Ratcliffe on Soar Power Station site. It is believed that this type of investment is not something that Rushcliffe, or the owners of the power station, could attract on their own. Concurrently the Council is also looking at the power station site having a significant role as part of a ‘freeport’ along with East Midlands Airport.

The emergence and growth of other forums has restricted the representation and influencing role of individual districts. The Health and Wellbeing Boards and Local Enterprise Partnerships are prime examples where representation is restricted to one district or borough council. However Officers ensure that regular updates are received and sent between district and borough councils to keep colleagues informed and good relationships are maintained with these organisations so we remain aware of opportunities are they arise. However, to further combat this, other supporting arrangements are in place. For example the Council has created Growth Boards to either facilitate local economic growth or deal with the challenges growth creates. There is also the City of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Economic Prosperity Committee to drive future investment in growth and jobs in the City and County. At a regional level there is a Development Corporation Board which focuses on, for example agreeing joint objectives, allocating resources and monitoring outcomes which will impact regionally.

As theses develop, there will be an increasing reliance upon forging relationships which can influence outcomes for Rushcliffe residents; for example, agreeing key infrastructure requirements which benefit not only Rushcliffe but neighbouring boroughs and districts. These models of partnership working provide a framework within which officers can be swift to take advantage of opportunities as they arise. They build upon our existing core principles model highlighted above and provide a clear map for the future.

Appendix B - Transformation Savings

Transformation Savings
Category	2020/21 £'000	2021/22 £'000	2022/23 £'000	2023/24 £'000	2024/25 £'000	2025/26 £'000
Transformation Savings	-	-	-	-	-	-
Service Efficiencies	1,767	-	-	-	-	-
Thematic Reviews	1,111	-	-	-	-	-
Additional Income	725	-	-	-	-	-
Additional Savings	329	-	-	-	-	-
Overall Total	3,932	-	-	-	-	-
Transformation Targets	-	-	-	-	-	-
Additional Green Bin Income	-	76	-	187	-	-
Transformation Employee Efficiencies	-	113	-	-	-	-
Finance Employee Efficiencies	-	22	-	-	-	-
Car Parking Partnership	-	16	-	-	-	-
Projects*	-	26	483	316	148	112
Total	-	253	483	503	148	112
Cumulative Transformation Savings	3,932	4,185	4,668	5,171	5,319	5,431

Appendix C - Commercialisation of Rushcliffe - A Balanced Investment in Our Future

With reduction in and eventual removal of Government grants to Local Authorities there is a need for Rushcliffe Borough Council, like other authorities, to consider new opportunities to help ensure the sustainability of the services delivered. Merely cutting costs will, in the long term, not be sufficient to fill the funding black hole. Local Authorities need to explore options to operate in a more commercial manner than would be traditionally expected of them.

This does not mean taking unnecessary risks with public money. It means, in these challenging financial times, the opportunity to continue to deliver the excellent services that our residents depend upon and expect.

Commercialisation for Rushcliffe informs and is integral to the Transformation Plan and Efficiency Strategy. This document should be viewed alongside:

Corporate Strategy
Asset Investment Strategy
Medium Term Financial Plan

Core principles

Commercialisation contributes towards the aims of the Medium-Term Financial Strategy and the following strategic goals, contained with the Council’s Corporate Strategy 2019-2023, improving:

Quality of Life
Efficient Services
Sustainable Growth
The Environment

All decisions are considered against and aligned with these strategic goals as well as some core principles to ensure the Council is protecting the interests of our communities. Rushcliffe’s core principles for commercialisation are:

Values – commercial opportunities will align with the Council’s values and enable the Borough Council to continue to deliver the vital services our communities rely on.

Broad/mixed approach - It is not solely focused on income generation. It also focuses on deployment of resources and doing things differently.
Responsive - be bold and opportunistic and prepared to think outside our comfort zone. This includes an acceptance that not all schemes will succeed but it is the value of the commercial programme as a whole that is critical.
Culture – a strong organisational culture supported by a clear vision and good communication. Rushcliffe ensures that staff have the skills to deliver and where this is not possible external professional advice is sought.
Risk - understand risk, this includes reputational risk, and be risk aware not risk adverse; the risk of doing nothing can sometimes be greater.

The Rushcliffe approach

Rushcliffe has embraced opportunities to operate in more commercial ways and has developed a strong programme of work across 5 key areas of commercialisation:

Acquisition and Development of Land and Property
Service Transformation and Company Development
Commercial Loans
Income Generation
Commercial Asset Investment

What we have already achieved

Extending our property portfolio with the construction of 15 new industrial units in Cotgrave.
Purchase of the Point office complex in the main town centre in the Borough.
Purchase of commercial land for development – Chapel Lane and Moorbridge Road. The land at Moorbridge was subsequently sold to facilitate the development of Industrial Units.
Office move to the Arena which has meant the development of new more flexible ways of working and a digital transformation, with the council being a more responsive and leaner organisation.
Acquisition of commercial property in the East Midlands region.
Loan to Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club to secure the future of big sporting events including the Ashes in the Borough.
Significant reviews of a range of services including collaboration in areas like Building Control and the creation of Streetwise Trading Company.
Significant income generation for example through green waste.
Acquisition of two new build Business Units in West Bridgford under the Asset Investment Strategy and supporting the Commercialism Agenda.

Governance and Monitoring

To ensure transparency, accountability and ongoing monitoring and management the Council has a robust structure in place to oversee all commercial decisions.

This work is led by the Commercialisation Board (Executive Management Team) to provide strategic leadership to the commercialisation agenda:

RBC Cabinet - Overall strategic direction / decisions
Commercialisation Board - Joined up strategic management of the work reporting to Cabinet as required
Asset Investment Group - Identifies new opportunities for investment
Strategic Growth Board - Explore opportunities with partners and external funding
Transformation Working Group - Internal service redesign

Appendix 4 - Capital Programme 2021/22 (including appraisals)

Capital Programme - Transformation
Transformation	2020/21 Latest Estimate £'000	2021/22 Indicative Estimate £'000	2022/23 Indicative Estimate £'000	2023/24 Indicative Estimate £'000	2024/25 Indicative Estimate £'000	2025/26 Indicative Estimate £'000
Cotgrave Regeneration Phase 2	1,819	570	0	0	0	0
Crematorium (1)	667	6,500	0	0	0
The Point Enhancements (2)	15	150	250	50	250	500
New Depot	340	0	0	0	0	0
Cotgrave Business Hub	0	0	0	0	0	70
Manvers Business Park - roof refurbishment	0	200	0	0	0	0
Bingham Leisure Hub (£20m)	3,408	16,000	0	0	0	0
Compton Acres Water Course	0	210	0	0	0	0
Manvers Business Park - roller shutters	0	100	0	0	0	0
Manvers Business Park -car park surface / drainage	42	0	0	0	0	0
Colliers Business Park - car park surface / drainage	46	0	0	0	0	0
Bridgford Park - toilet refurbishments	25	0	0	0	0	0
Bridgford Hall - enhancements	20	0	0	0	0	0
Bingham Market Place - enhancements	89	0	0	0	0	0
Park Cottage - fabric upgrade	0	0	0	0	90	0
Walkers Yard	0	0	0	0	60	0
Abbey Circus, West Bridgford - fencing open space	0	0	0	35	0	0
Highways Verges - Cotgrave / Bingham / Cropwell Bishop	0	0	0	0	0	250
Keyworth Cemetery	0	0	0	20	0	0
Sub Total	6,471	23,730	250	105	400	820

Capital Programme - Neighbourhoods
Neighbourhoods	2020/21 Latest Estimate £'000	2021/22 Indicative Estimate £'000	2022/23 Indicative Estimate £'000	2023/24 Indicative Estimate £'000	2024/25 Indicative Estimate £'000	2025/26 Indicative Estimate £'000
Vehicle Replacement (3)	282	730	490	930	1,055	405
Support for Registered Housing Providers	612	500	500	0	0	0
Hound Lodge - access control system	25	0	0	0	0	0
Hound Lodge - Annexe patio doors	35	0	0	0	0	0
Hound Lodge - roof refurbishment / rewire	0	0	150	0	75	0
Hound Lodge - external wall thermal upgrade	0	0	75	0	0	0
Assistive Technology	17	16	16	16	16	16
Discretionary Top Ups	57	57	57	57	57	57
Disabled Facilities Grants	627	515	515	515	515	515
Arena Reception and Corridor Floor Upgrade	0	75	0	0	0	0
Bowls Hall - replacement furniture	0	15	0	0	0	0
Bingham Leisure Centre - improvements	109	0	0	0	0	0
Cotgrave Leisure Centre - pool and plant enhancements	0	0	15	200	150	0
Cotgrave Leisure Centre - changing village refurbishment	12	300	0	0	0	0
Cotgrave Leisure Centre - pool lining	25	0	0	0	0	0
Cotgrave Leisure Centre -refurbish roofs to sports hall and pool hall	0	150	0	0	0	0
Cotgrave Leisure Centre -sports hall floor replacement	0	0	0	100	0	0
Cotgrave Leisure Centre - dry change refurbishment	0	0	0	100	0	0
Keyworth Leisure Centre - plant and lighting enhancements	0	0	170	0	0	0
Keyworth Leisure Centre - refurbish pool hall and changing village	0	250	0	0	0	0
Keyworth Leisure Centre - refurbish pitched / flat roof areas	0	220	0	0	0	0
Arena Enhancements	115	0	0	0	0	0
Car Park resurfacing	215	0	0	0	0	0
Car Park improvements - lighting other	102	0	0	0	0	0
Car Park improvements - lighting West Bridgford	48	0	0	0	0	0
Sub Total	2,281	2,828	1,988	1,918	1,868	993

Capital Programme - Communities
Communities	2020/21 Latest Estimate £'000	2021/22 Indicative Estimate £'000	2022/23 Indicative Estimate £'000	2023/24 Indicative Estimate £'000	2024/25 Indicative Estimate £'000	2025/26 Indicative Estimate £'000
Capital Grant Funding	59	0	0	0	0	0
VE Day 75th Commemoration	20	0	0	0	0	0
Play Areas in West Bridgford - Special Expense (4)	150	50	50	50	50	50
West Park - fencing and drainage special expense	25	0	0	0	0	0
West Park - car park lighting special expense	25	0	0	0	0	0
West Park - public toilet upgrade special expense	20	0	0	0	0	0
West Park - Sir Julien Cahn Pavilion special expense	0	115	0	0	0	0
Gresham Sports Pitches / Pavilion (5)	1,295	125	0	0	0	0
Rushcliffe Country Park - buildings enhancements	10	0	0	0	0	0
Rushcliffe Country Park - vehicle access controls	0	15	0	0	0	0
Rushcliffe Country Park - footpath improvements	0	15	0	0	0	25
Rushcliffe Country Park - skatepark	218	0	0	0	0	0
Rushcliffe Country Park - visitor centre	0	285	0	0	0	0
Lutterell Hall Special Expense	50	225	0	0	0	0
Skateboard Parks	190	0	0	0	0	0
Gamston Community Hall Special Expense	0	115	0	50	40	0
External Door / Window upgrades at various sites	0	50	0	0	0	0
Warm Homes on Prescription	25	25	25	25	25	25
Sub Total	2,087	1,020	75	125	115	100

Capital Programme - Finance and Corporate Services
Finance and Corporate Services	2020/21 Latest Estimate £'000	2021/22 Indicative Estimate £'000	2022/23 Indicative Estimate £'000	2023/24 Indicative Estimate £'000	2024/25 Indicative Estimate £'000	2025/26 Indicative Estimate £'000
Information Systems Strategy (6)	385	330	230	230	280	230
Streetwise Loan (7)	150	150	150	150	150	150
Asset Investment Strategy	4,554	0	0	0	0	0
Contingency	150	100	100	100	100	100
Sub Total	5,239	580	480	480	530	480

Capital Programme - Total
Programme Total	2020/21 Latest Estimate £'000	2021/22 Indicative Estimate £'000	2022/23 Indicative Estimate £'000	2023/24 Indicative Estimate £'000	2024/25 Indicative Estimate £'000	2025/26 Indicative Estimate £'000
Total	16,078	28,158	2,793	2,628	2,913	2,393

Project Appraisals

Reference: 1
Project Name: The Crematorium

Cost Centre: 0684

Detailed Description

In November 2018, Cabinet approved the principle of providing a new crematorium on a site at Stragglethorpe to provide much needed additional community infrastructure to serve Rushcliffe residents.

In December 2019 Cabinet approved purchase of a site and design and procurement of the crematorium. The land was purchased and procurement is estimated to take up to 9 months with a further 12 month build period resulting in the new facility opening late 2021 or early 2022.

The Cabinet report July 2020 authorised the Chief Executive to appoint the successful multi-disciplinary design team to develop detailed designs and perform contract administration and management duties for the construction contract. The in-house operating model was supported as that which provides the best return for the Council. New technologies continue to be explored to enable delivery of a greener crematorium for the Borough within the project budget. The design team has been appointed.

Location: Stragglethorpe

Executive Manager: Transformation

Contributions to the Council’s Aims and Objectives

Corporate Priorities

Quality of Life - Sensitive after-life care and bereavement services are an essential part of the quality of life for residents, their friends and family members. This scheme will provide timely services in a peaceful location with modern and flexibly sized accommodation
Efficient Services - This is an opportunity for the Council to invest its capital in new services for its residents which will be run in an efficient manner with high levels of care and customer service for the bereaved as the priority.
Sustainable Growth - The level of housing growth in the Borough is 13,150 during the life of the Local Plan. This will lead to an additional population growth and the crematorium is an example of the community infrastructure that is needed to support population growth
The Environment - The designs for the crematorium will include carbon offsetting and energy efficiency measures as far as is practicable in line with the Council’s commitment to become carbon neutral

Strategic Commitments

Provide high quality community facilities which meet the needs of our residents and contribute towards the financial independence of the Council.
Responsible income generation and prudent borrowing where deemed appropriate, to facilitate the delivery of services.
Ongoing appraisal and alignment of resources linked to growth aspirations.
Bringing new business to the Borough.
Reviewing our policies and ways of working to protect natural resources, and to implement environmentally beneficial infrastructure changes.

Community Outcomes

To provide additional community infrastructure resulting in additional capacity in the Borough alongside the existing Crematorium at Wilford Hill.
Ensuring we are maximising our property holdings and aligning them with the needs of residents. Properties may be held for operational purposes, for community use, or for investment purposes.
The designs for the crematorium will include carbon offsetting and energy efficiency measures as far as is practicable in line with the Council’s commitment to become carbon neutral.

Other Options Rejected and Why

The Council could leave the delivery of a new crematorium in the Borough to the wider market. This option would not provide a revenue return to the Council which could be used to contribute to other community infrastructure projects and would reduce Council influence on the design and operation of the facility. Feedback from local residents and businesses following the granting of planning permission has been that they would prefer this to be a Council run facility.

The in-house operating model was supported as that which provides the best return for the Council.

Start Date: 29 June 2021 - start on site.

Completion Date: 16 May 2022

Capital Cost (Total): £8,500,000

Previous Years: £2,000,000

Year 1 (2021/22): £6,500,000

Year 2 (2022/23): not applicable

Capital Cost (Breakdown): £8,500,000 - land £1,330,000 in 2019/20; design fees and surveys £667,000 in 2020/21; split of the remainder to be determined.

Works: to be determined

Equipment: to be determined

Other: Land £1,330,000 acquired in 2019/20

Fees: £667,000

Additional Revenue cost / (savings) per annum

Year 1 (2021/22) - £35,000
Year 2 (2022/23) - (£257,000)
Year 3 (2023/24) - (£316,000)
Year 4 (2024/25) - (£376,000)
Year 5 (2025/26) - (£438,000)

Proposed Funding

External: £2,950,000 Borrowing – internal or external

Internal: £5,550,000 Capital Receipts

Useful Economic Life (years): 50 years

New / Replacement: New

Depreciation per annum: £170,000

Capital Financing Costs

Principal and interest on borrowing of £2,950,000 is £100,000 per annum

Opportunity Cost in the form of lost interest on the use of Capital Receipts £13,875 per annum

Residual Value: Not applicable

Category of Asset: Operational Land and Buildings

Reference: 2
Project Name: The Point Balcony Waterproofing and Passenger Lifts Upgrade

Cost Centre: 0360

Detailed Description

£20,000 provision for the Car Park Security Gate has been slipped from 2020/21.

The waterproof coating to the second floor front balcony is blistering and in poor condition; wholesale replacement is required to maintain the integrity of the structure and prevent water ingress to offices below - £50,000.

The passenger lifts are approx. 15 years old and reaching the end of their service life; substantial upgrade is proposed to ensure that customers can continue to be transported safely and reliably - £80,000. These works will not be commissioned until late 2021/22 so may slip to 2022/23.

Location: The Point

Executive Manager: Transformation

Contributions to the Council’s Aims and Objectives

Corporate Priorities

Efficient Services
Sustainable Growth
The Environment

Strategic Commitments

Responsible income generation and prudent borrowing where deemed appropriate, to facilitate the delivery of services.
Ongoing appraisal and alignment of resources linked to growth aspirations.
Bringing new business to the Borough and nurturing our existing businesses, helping them to grow and succeed.
Working to achieve a carbon neutral status for the Council’s operations.

Community Outcomes

Upgrade works will enhance the efficiency of the facility, improving comfort for users and help to maximise use of resources.

Other Options Rejected and Why

Do not carry out upgrade works – this would put at risk operational certainty for the facility, negatively impact customer comfort and safety and fail to minimise operational costs.

Start Date: Not specified

Completion Date: Not specified

Capital Cost (Total): £150,000

Year 1 (2021/22): £150,000

Capital Cost (Breakdown)

Works: £45,000

Equipment: £95,000

Other: None

Fees: £10,000

Revenue cost per annum

Year 1 (2021/22): Not quantifiable at this stage, but should see revenue spend on repairs reduce
Year 2 (2022/23): Not quantifiable at this stage, but should see revenue spend on repairs reduce
Year 3 (2023/24): Not quantifiable at this stage, but should see revenue spend on repairs reduce
Year 4 (2024/25): Not quantifiable at this stage, but should see revenue spend on repairs reduce
Year 5 (2025/26): Not quantifiable at this stage, but should see revenue spend on repairs reduce

Proposed Funding

External: None

Internal: £150,000 from Investment Properties Reserve

Useful Economic Life (years): 15 - 20 years

New / Replacement: New

Depreciation per annum: Not applicable

Capital Financing Costs: £375 per annum as opportunity cost of lost interest.

Residual Value: Not applicable

Category of Asset: Investment Property

Reference: 3
Project Name: Vehicle Replacement

Cost Centre: 0680

Detailed Description

The authority owns vehicles ranging from large refuse freighters to small vans and items of mechanical plant. As these vehicles and plant age and become uneconomic to maintain and run, they are replaced on a new for old basis. Although there is a programme for replacements for the next ten years, each vehicle or machine is assessed annually and the programme continually adjusted to take into account actual performance. This provision will be used to acquire new vehicles and plant, undertake refurbishments to extend vehicle life and value and to purchase second hand vehicles and plant as and when appropriate. There is beginning to be a concentration of focussing on newer cleaner technology as we replace existing fleet vehicles in line with the Council’s Carbon management agenda, exploring alternatives such as electric and hydrogen cell technology to look at cutting down on emissions whilst ensuring the vehicles remain operationally viable and offer value for money

Location: Eastcroft Depot

Executive Manager: Neighbourhoods

Contributions to the Council’s Aims and Objectives

Corporate Priorities

Quality of Life
Efficient Services
The Environment

Strategic Commitments

Working with our partners to create great, safe, and clean communities to live and work in.
Ongoing appraisal and alignment of resources linked to growth aspirations.
Reviewing our policies and ways of working to protect natural resources, and to implement environmentally beneficial infrastructure changes. To reduce waste and increasingly reuse and recycle to protect the environment for the future.
Respond to any proposals from the new Environment Bill due to become legislation later in 2021 which may have a significant effect of what wastes should be collected and how.
Delivering a high quality waste and recycling collection service.
A commitment to look at cleaner vehicles in line with our commitment to protect the environment, in particularly alternative fuel vehicles.

The replacement of vehicles is critical to the performance of the front line services. Regular vehicle and plant replacement with new updated engines helps to meet climate change and national indicator targets for emissions and helps maintain a cleaner air quality within the Borough.

Community Outcomes

To address climate change and the need to reduce carbon emissions. The introduction of new euro standard engines will lower emissions. The new vehicles will also reduce maintenance costs on the vehicles they replace however it should be noted that the remainder of the fleet ages and therefore the fleet profile and maintenance costs overall remain stable.

Other Options Rejected and Why

An historic review was undertaken to consider the leasing and hiring in of vehicles. Due to the level of capital resources, it was concluded that it was uneconomical to do either of these two options but as resources reduce these options may need to be revisited again. However, there are also distinct advantages in direct purchase:-

The authority has control over the maintenance of the vehicles.
It is difficult to change the terms and conditions of a lease.
High performing vehicles can have their lifespan lengthened.
Poor performing vehicles can have their lifespan shortened.

Not being tied in to lengthy lease/hire contracts means the service can react and adapt to change quickly.

The Council now actively looks at the possible purchase of second hand vehicles and will refurbish vehicles to extend their life and value.

Start Date: Ongoing

Completion Date: Not specified

Capital Cost (Total): £1,220,000 (2 years)

Year 1 (2021/22): £730,000

Year 2 (2022/23): £490,000

Capital Cost (Breakdown)

Works: £0

Equipment: £1,220,000

Other: £0

Fees: £0

Additional Revenue cost / (savings) per annum

Year 1 (2021/22): £0
Year 2 (2022/23): £0
Year 3 (2023/24): £0
Year 4 (2024/25): £0
Year 5 (2025/26): £0

As each vehicle replaces an existing vehicle, there is no increase in the overall revenue costs. Whilst newer vehicles can lead to less expenditure on breakdown and repair, older vehicles will cost more. The overall fleet profile remains relatively constant and therefore service budgets remain the same. However with property growth there is the likelihood moving forward that additional revenue expenditure may be incurred and this will be need to be considered for the budget year 2022/23.

Proposed Funding

External: Not applicable

Internal: Capital Receipts

Useful Economic Life (years): Various

New / Replacement: New and replacements

Depreciation per annum: Various

Capital Financing Costs: £1,825 in year one

Residual Value: Various

Category of Asset: Vehicle and plant

Reference: 4
Project Name: Play Areas - West Bridgford (Special Expense)

Cost Centre: 0664

Detailed Description

The priority project for 2021/22 will be Alford Road Play area looking at upgrade work to structure and equipment.

Projects for 2022/23 will be assessed and prioritised.

Location: West Bridgford

Executive Manager: Communities

Contributions to the Council’s Aims and Objectives

Corporate Priorities

Quality of Life
Efficient Services

Strategic Commitments

Protecting our residents’ health and facilitating healthier lifestyle choices.
Provide high quality community facilities which meet the needs of our residents and contribute towards the financial independence of the Council.
Creating opportunities for young people to realise their potential.
Delivering a scheme refurbishment identified within the Rushcliffe Play Strategy.

Community Outcomes

To ensure the provision of high quality community facilities which meet community need.
To protect our residents’ health and facilitate healthier lifestyle choice.
To provide a facility to engage with young people who may otherwise not take part in formal sports or physical activity.

Other Options Rejected and Why

Doing nothing – this would result in increased maintenance costs for ageing equipment, reduced appeal of the play areas leading to lower levels of use and be inconsistent with the vision of high quality parks and leisure facilities. A lack of replacement programme would over time lead to an increased health and safety risk.

Start Date: April 2021

Completion Date: March 2022

Capital Cost (Total): £100,000

Year 1 (2021/22): £50,000

Year 2 (2022/23): £50,000

Capital Cost (Breakdown): Split of equipment costs to be determined.

Works: £95,000

Equipment: £0

Other: £0

Fees: £5,000

Additional Revenue cost / (savings) per annum

Year 1 (2021/22): not applicable
Year 2 (2022/23): not applicable
Year 3 (2023/24): not applicable
Year 4 (2024/25): not applicable
Year 5 (2025/26): not applicable

Proposed Funding

External: None

Internal: Regeneration and Community Projects Reserve (Special Expense)

Useful Economic Life (years): 15 years

New / Replacement: Replacement

Depreciation per annum: £3,300

Capital Financing Costs: £125 per annum

Reference: 5
Project Name: Gresham Sports Pavilion - changing room refurbishment

Cost Centre: 0347

Detailed Description

The changing areas are in excess of 10 years old and as well as looking visually tired they are also increasingly difficult to maintain in a clean and safe condition. Use of the facility is set to increase with the addition of a further 3G pitch later this year; these refurb works are intended to tie-in with the launch of the new facilities. Refurb will generally include floor, wall and selected ceiling finishes and upgrade to some plant services including lighting to LED.

Location: Gresham Sports Pavilion - West Bridgford

Executive Manager: Communities

Contributions to the Council’s Aims and Objectives

Corporate Priorities

Quality of Life
Efficient Services

Strategic Commitments

Protecting our residents' health and facilitating healthier lifestyle choices.
Providing
Creating
Ongoing

Community Outcomes

Number of leisure users
Satisfaction
Participation in sport figures
Quality of facility

Other Options Rejected and Why

Do not upgrade the refurbishment works – this would potentially put at risk operational performance of the facility, increase maintenance costs, reduce customer perception/satisfaction and miss an opportunity to reduce year on year revenue running costs.

Start Date: Not specified

Completion Date: Not specified

Capital Cost (Total): £125,000

Year 1 (2021/22): £125,000

Year 2 (2022/23): £0

Capital Cost (Breakdown)

Works: £120,000

Equipment: £0

Other: £0

Fees: £5,000

Additional Revenue cost / (savings) per annum

Year 1 (2021/22): None
Year 2 (2022/23): Not quantifiable at the stage, but should see revenue spend on repair work reduce.
Year 3 (2023/24): Not quantifiable at the stage, but should see revenue spend on repair work reduce.
Year 4 (2024/25): Not quantifiable at the stage, but should see revenue spend on repair work reduce.
Year 5 (2025/26): Not quantifiable at the stage, but should see revenue spend on repair work reduce.

Proposed Funding

External: None

Internal: Capital Receipts

Useful Economic Life (years): 15 years

New / Replacement: Replacement

Depreciation per annum: £8,300

Capital Financing Costs: £312 per annum

Residual Value: Not applicable

Category of Asset: Operational Land and Buildings

Reference: 6
Project Name: Information Systems Strategy

Cost Centre: 0596

Detailed Description

The ICT Strategy 2017 to 2021 agreed on 12 September 2017 is an emerging ICT Strategy. While the strategy contains broad strategic objectives along with the rationale behind those objectives, including the benefits and deliverables that will be achieved it does not set out to provide a strict formula or action plan dictating the approach. An emerging strategy will therefore exist enabling an agile approach to operational delivery, taking advantage of new proven developments and partnership opportunities. The ICT Technical Delivery Plan details all technical projects, and the schedule for implementation, during the lifetime of the ICT Strategy.

Location: Rushcliffe Arena

Executive Manager: Finance and Corporate Services

Contributions to the Council’s Aims and Objectives

Corporate Priorities

Efficient Services
The Environment

Strategic Commitments

Ongoing appraisal and alignment of resources linked to growth aspirations.
Include digital principles in our communications and ways of undertaking business.

Community Outcomes

To ensure that we make best use of digital development where appropriate to deliver better services and operate more efficiently.
To enable residents to do business with us in a digital way if that is their preference.

The ICT Strategy is closely aligned to the Council’s “Four Year Plan” reviews and ICT will be instrumental in delivering the outcomes identified during these reviews. The Strategy will deliver:

Enabling Efficiency
- Using Digital by Design principles to enabling the Council to redesign processes/services to be more accessible and efficient, producing better, quicker and more consistent outcomes for customers.
Responding flexibly and with agility to customer needs
- To facilitate channel shift where appropriate by creating digital service that our customers view as their access channel of choice moving transactions away from face to face and telephony towards self-service facilities via Internet, automated telephony and kiosk technologies.
Increase our ability to work in effective partnerships
- To continue the work to facilitate common policies, standards, systems and infrastructure to drive out cost and create opportunities for greater resilience, efficiencies and savings.
Modern architecture
- Enabling the greater flexibility and agility of both employees and members through the deployment of appropriate technology including effective collaboration systems and tools.
Robust arrangements for business continuity, information management and governance and security
- Safeguarding the Council's data by ensuring compliance with all relevant legislative, financial and central government security standards. Improving maturity of the management and governance of information assets and delivering appropriate arrangements to ensure compliance with such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Other Options Rejected and Why

Every project is the subject of a business case to be presented to, and approved by, the Executive Management Team (EMT) in order to ensure that the most appropriate IT solution is chosen, having due regard to the alignment of technologies across the partnership, value for money and resilience. The option of not doing so would lead to out dated or incompatible technology which would result in lower performance, higher maintenance costs and hinder the drive for greater efficiencies.

Start Date: On-going

Completion Date: On-going

Capital Cost (Total): £560,000

Year 1 (2021/22): £330,000

Year 2 (2022/23): £230,000

Capital Cost (Breakdown): To be determined

Additional Revenue cost / (savings) per annum: To be determined

Proposed Funding

External: None

Internal: Capital Receipts

Useful Economic Life (years): 3 years

New / Replacement: New and replacement

Depreciation per annum: £110,000 in year 1

Capital Financing Costs: £825 in year 1

Residual Value: Nil

Category of Asset: Intangible Assets and Equipment

Reference: 7
Project Name: Streetwise Loan

Cost Centre: 0656

Detailed Description

This provision is to facilitate a loan to Streetwise Environmental Ltd to assist with the purchase of new and replacement vehicles. The loans will be repayable over 4 years, quarterly intervals at a market rate of interest to be agreed by the S151 Officer.

Location: Unit 10 Moorbridge - Streetwise premises

Executive Manager: Finance and Corporate Services

Contributions to the Council’s Aims and Objectives

Corporate Priorities

Efficient Services
Sustainable Growth

Strategic Commitments

Ongoing appraisal and alignment of resources lined to growth aspirations.
Reviewing service delivery models to ensure that residents are receiving consistently excellent services either delivered directly by the Council, or by our arm’s length companies, or by private and public sector partners.
Bringing new business to the borough and nurturing our existing businesses, helping them to grow and succeed.

Community Outcomes

To ensure that we have an integrated and strategic approach to how we provide our services.

Other Options Rejected and Why

Offering the loan from ourselves maintains the strong working partnership between RBC and Streetwise Environmental Ltd. The loans will be repaid in full and thereby sums returned to the capital receipts pot. RBC revenue budget will be supported by the interest earned on the loans.

Start Date: On-going

Completion Date: Not applicable

Capital Cost (Total): £3000,000 (2 years)

Year 1 (2021/22): £150,000

Year 2 (2022/23): £150,000

Capital Cost (Breakdown)

Works: Not applicable

Equipment: Not applicable

Other: £300,000

Fees: Not applicable

Additional Revenue cost / (savings) per annum

Year 1 (2021/22): (£2,330)
Year 2 (2022/23): (£3,910)
Year 3 (2023/24): (£2,420)
Year 4 (2024/25): (£1,820)

Proposed Funding

External: £0

Internal: Capital Receipts

Useful Economic Life (years): Not applicable

New / Replacement: Not applicable

Depreciation per annum: Not applicable

Capital Financing Costs: Net nil as loan repaid

Residual Value: Not applicable

Category of Asset: Long/Short Term Debtor

Appendix 5 - Capital and Investment Strategy 2021/22 - 2025/26

Introduction

1. The Local Government Act 2003 requires the Council to comply with the CIPFA Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities when carrying out capital and treasury management activities.

2. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) issued revised Guidance on Local Authority Investments that requires the Council to approve an investment strategy before the start of each financial year.

3 .This report fulfils the Council’s legal obligation under the Local Government Act 2003 to have regard to both the CIPFA Code and the MHCLG Guidance.

The Capital Strategy

4. The Council’s capital expenditure plans are summarised below and forms the first of the prudential indicators. Capital expenditure needs to have regard to:

Corporate objectives (e.g. strategic planning);
Stewardship of assets (e.g. asset management planning);
Value for money (e.g. option appraisal);
Prudence and sustainability (e.g. implications for external borrowing and whole life costing);
Affordability (e.g. implications for council tax); and
Practicability (e.g. the achievability of the Corporate Strategy)

5. Each year the Council will produce a Capital Programme to be approved by Full Council in March as part of the Council Tax setting.

6. Each scheme is supported by a detailed appraisal (which may also be a Cabinet Report), as set out in the Council’s Financial Regulations. The capital appraisals will address the following:

A detailed description of the project;
How the project contributes to the Council’s aims and objectives;
Anticipated outcomes;
A consideration of alternative solutions;
An estimate of the capital costs and sources of funding;
An estimate of the revenue implications, including any savings and/or future income generation potential;
Any other aspects relevant to the appraisal of the scheme as the S151 Officer may determine.

The appraisal requirement applies to all schemes except where there is regular grant support and if commercial negotiations are due to take place and further reporting to Cabinet or Full Council is therefore required.

7. From time to time unforeseen opportunities may arise, or new priorities may emerge, which will require swift action and inclusion in the Capital Programme. These schemes are still subject to the appraisal process and the Capital Programme will contain a contingency sum to allow such schemes to progress without disrupting other planned capital activity.

Capital Prudential Indicators

a) Capital Expenditure Estimates

8. Capital expenditure can be financed immediately through the application of capital resources, for example, capital receipts, capital grants or revenue resources. However, if these resources are insufficient or a decision is taken not to apply resources, the capital expenditure will give rise to a borrowing need. The table below summarises the capital expenditure projections and anticipated financing.

Projected Capital Expenditure and Financing
Category	2020/21 Original £'000	2020/21 Revised £'000	2021/22 Estimate £'000	2022/23 Estimate £'000	2023/24 Estimate £'000	2024/25 Estimate £'000	2025/26 Estimate £'000
Capital Expenditure	18,936	16,078	28,158	2,793	2,628	2,913	2,393
Less Financed by	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Capital Receipts	14,922	7,829	15,199	1,880	1,915	1,850	1,160
Capital Grants / Contributions	2,428	2,570	6,003	613	613	613	613
Reserves	70	452	500	300	100	450	620
Total Financing	17,420	10,851	21,702	2,793	2,628	2,913	2,393
Underlying need to Borrow	1,516	5,227	6,456	-	-	-	-

9. The key risks to the capital expenditure plans are that the level of grants estimated is subject to change, anticipated capital receipts are not realised or are more than expected in the medium term; and the future of New Homes Bonus (NHB). Government intend to cease the NHB scheme in 2023/24 which impacts on the level of capital grants received.

b) The Council's Underlying Need to Borrow and Investment Position

10. The Capital Financing Requirement (CFR) represents the Council’s underlying need to borrow for capital expenditure. This underlying need to borrow will increase the CFR (the use of internal borrowing, which reduces our investment balance). This increase is offset by Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) and any additional voluntary contributions (VRP) raised through Council Tax, as a result of financing requirements in relation to the Arena development, Cotgrave redevelopment and in later years Bingham Leisure Hub and the Crematorium Appendix 6 - Use of Earmarked Reserves 2021/22

11. The Council also holds usable reserves and working capital which represent the underlying resources available for investment. The Council’s current strategy is to use these resources, by way of internal borrowing, to avoid the commitment to external debt.

12. The table below summarises the overall position with regard to borrowing and available investments and shows an increase in CFR reflecting the capital commitment on projects such as the crematorium and Bingham Leisure Hub.

Capital Financing Requirement and Investment Resources
Description	2019/2020 Projected £'000	2020/21 Forecast £'000	2021/22 Forecast £'000	2022/23 Forecast £'000	2023/24 Forecast £'000	2024/25 Forecast £'000	2025/26 Forecast £'000
Opening CFR	8,300	7,300	11,527	16,909	15,635	14,361	13,361
CFR in year	-	5,227	6,456	-	-	-	-
Less MRP etc	(1,000)	(1,000)	(1,074)	(1,274)	(1,274)	(1,000)	(1,250)
Closing CFR	7,300	11,527	16,909	15,635	14,361	13,361	12,111
Less External Borrowing	-	-	(4,957)	(7,348)	(7,216)	(7,082)	(6,945)
Internal Borrowing	7,300	11,527	11,952	8,287	7,145	6,279	5,166
Less Usable Reserves	(19,835)	(22,314)	(18,039)	(18,694)	(18,522)	(18,666)	(17,103)
Less Working Capital	(18,757)	(15,670)	(14,665)	(15,579)	(15,579)	(15,579)	(15,579)
Available for Investment	(31,292)	(26,457)	(20,752)	(25,986)	(26,956)	(27,966)	(27,516)

13. The Council is currently debt free although there is an underlying assumption in the capital expenditure plans that the Council may need to externally borrow £5 million in 2021-22 and a further £2.5 million in 2022-23. Available resources (usable reserves and working capital) remain steady over the medium term, with usable reserves being used to finance both capital and revenue expenditure over time.

14. The total amount borrowed will not exceed the authorised borrowing limit of £25m. The Authority is not required to link particular loans with particular items of expenditure.

15. CIPFA's Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities recommends that the Authority’s gross external debt should be lower than its highest forecast CFR over the next three years. Table 2 shows that the Authority expects to comply with this recommendation.

16. The new accounting standard IFRS16 has been delayed a further year and comes into force on 1 April 2022. IFRS 16 affects how leases are measured, recognised and presented in the accounts and essentially means that some leases may have to be classified as capital expenditure. The full impact of this change is still yet to be determined and this is likely to impact on the CFR. As we currently have no external borrowing this is unlikely to affect the Authorised Limit.

Minimum Revenue Provision Policy

17. Revised MHCLG Regulations have been issued which require the Governance Scrutiny Group to consider a Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Statement in advance of each year. Further commentary regarding financing of the debt is provided in paragraphs 30-34 A variety of options are provided to Councils, so long as there is prudent provision. The Council has chosen the Asset Life Method (Option 3 within the Guidance) with the following recommended MRP Statement:

MRP will be based on the estimated life of the assets, in accordance with Option 3 of the regulations. Estimated life periods within this limit will be determined under delegated powers, subject to any statutory override. (DCLG revised guidance states maximum asset lives of 40 and 50 years for property and land respectively).

As some types of capital expenditure incurred by the Council are not capable of being related to an individual asset, asset lives will be assessed on a basis which most reasonably reflects the anticipated period of benefit that arises from the expenditure. Also, whatever type of expenditure is involved, it will be grouped together in a manner which reflects the nature of the main component of expenditure and will only be divided up in cases where there are two or more major components with substantially different useful economic lives.

This option provides for a reduction in the borrowing need over approximately the asset’s life.

18. As well as the need to pay off an element of the accumulated General Fund borrowing requirement used to fund capital expenditure each year (the capital financing requirement - CFR) through a revenue charge (the MRP) it is also allowed to make additional voluntary contributions (voluntary revenue provision – VRP). In times of financial crisis the Council has the flexibility to reduce voluntary contributions.

Treasury Management Strategy 2021/22 to 2025/26

19. The CIPFA Treasury Management Code defines treasury management activities as:

“The management of the local authority’s investments and cash flows, its banking, money market and capital market transactions; the effective control of the risks associated with those activities; and the pursuit of optimum performance consistent with those risks.

The code also covers non-cash investments which are covered at paragraph 67 below.

20. The CIPFA Code of Practice for Treasury Management in the Public Services (the “CIPFA Treasury Management Code”) and the CIPFA Prudential Code require local authorities to produce a Treasury Management Strategy Statement on an annual basis.

21. This Strategy Statement includes those indicators that relate to the treasury management functions and help ensure that the Council’s capital investment plans are affordable, prudent and sustainable, while giving priority to the security and liquidity of those investments.

The Current Economic Climate and prospects for Interest Rates

22. The UK faces a long road to economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The furlough scheme was set to end October but has now been extended to the end of March 2021 due to the fear that its withdrawal will lead to many job losses. Consumers will also probably remain cautious in spending and this will dampen growth. While the UK has been gripped by the long running saga of whether or not a deal would be made by 31.12.20, the final agreement on 24.12.20, followed by ratification by Parliament and all 27 EU countries in the following week, has eliminated a significant downside risk for the UK economy. The initial agreement only covers trade so there is further work to be done on the services sector where temporary equivalence has been granted in both directions between the UK and EU; that now needs to be formalised on a permanent basis. Economic recovery is expected to be only gradual and, therefore, prolonged. The trajectory will be dependent on factors such as the success of the Coronavirus vaccine.

23. The November lockdown in England is expected to see economic growth fall again in Q4. As a result, output in 2020 as a whole will contract by 11.3%. A partial recovery in 2021 could see growth of 5.5% next year but it is not anticipated that output will reach pre-Covid levels before Q2 2022.

24. The extension of the furlough scheme in November has potentially forestalled a sharp increase in unemployment in the final quarter of 2020. The rate of unemployment is now expected to peak at 7.5% around May next year before gradually subsiding, reaching 4.4% by the end of 2024.

25. The current Bank of England base rate is 0.1%. The Bank of England took emergency action in March to cut the Bank Rate to first 0.25% and then to 0.1%. It has remained unchanged, but some forecasters are suggesting that a cut into negative territory could happen. The Bank of England suggest such a move would do more damage than good. Link (the Council’s Treasury Advisors) are forecasting no change within the forecast horizon ending on 31 March 2023.

26. Inflation levels are expected to increase to 2% in 2021 and 2.1% in 2022 and 2023.

27. The table below shows the assumed average interest (which reflects a prudent approach) that will be made over the next five years for budget setting purposes.

Budgetary Impact of Assumed Interest Rate
Category	2021/22	2022/23	2023/24	2024/25	2025/26
Anticipated Interest Rate (%)	0.10	0.25	0.50	0.50	0.50
Expected Interest from Investments (£)	373,100	422,500	484,900	488,400	486,700
Other Interest (£)	89,000	81,000	72,000	64,000	59,000
Total Interest (£)	462,100	503,500	556,900	552,400	545,700
Sensitivity	£	£	£	£	£
-0.25% Interest Rate	(14,500)	(12,500)	(19,500)	(21,300)	(21,300)
+0.25% Interest Rate	14,500	12,500	19,500	21,300	21,300

28. In the event that a bank suffers a loss, the Council could be subject to bail-in to assist with the recovery process. The impact of a bail-in depends on the size of the loss incurred by the bank or building society, the amount of equity capital and junior bonds that can be absorbed first and the proportion of insured deposits, covered bonds and other liabilities that are exempt from bail-in.

29. The Council has managed bail-in risk by both reducing the amount that can be invested with each institution to £10 million and by investment diversification between creditworthy counterparties.

Borrowing Strategy 2021/22 to 2025/26

Prudential Indicators for External Debt

30. The Capital Financing table above identifies that the Council may need to externally borrow over the MTFS if it is not possible to internally borrow. This would result in borrowing costs. Anticipated levels of external borrowing are reflected in the figures.

31. The approved sources of long term and short term borrowing are:

Internal borrowing
Municipal Bond Agency
Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) (or the body that will replace the PWLB in the future)
Local authorities
UK public and private sector pension funds
Commercial banks
Building Societies in the UK
Leasing
Capital market bond investors
Special purpose companies created to enable local authority bond issues.

Following the recent consultation PWLB have published new lending terms effective from 26 November and now General Fund Borrowing is in line with HRA at Gilts +80bps (certainty rate). There is also now the need to categorise the capital programme into five categories including service, housing, regeneration etc. If any Authority has assets that are being purchased ‘primarily for yield’ anywhere in their capital programme they will not be able to access PWLB funding.

a) Authorised Limit for External Debt

32. The authorised limit is the “affordable borrowing limit” required by section 3 (1) of the Local Government Act 2003 and represents the limit beyond which borrowing is prohibited. It shows the maximum amount the Council could afford to borrow in the short term to maximise treasury management opportunities and either cover temporary cash flow shortfalls or use for longer term capital investment.

Authorised Limit for External Debt
Description	2020/21 Estimate £'000	2021/22 Estimate £'000	2022/23 Estimate £'000	2023/24 Estimate £'000	2024/25 Estimate £'000	2025/26 Estimate £'000
Authorised Limit	25,000	25,000	25,000	25,000	25,000	25,000

b) Operational Boundary for External Debt

33. The operational boundary is the expected borrowing position of the Council during the course of the year. The operational boundary is not a limit and actual borrowing can be either below or above the boundary subject to the authorised limit not being breached. The Operational Limit has been set at £20m as the Council is expected to borrow over the period of the MTFS.

Operational Boundary for External Debt
Category	2020/21 Estimate £'000	2021/22 Estimate £'000	2022/23 Estimate £'000	2023/24 Estimate £'000	2024/25 Estimate £'000	2025/26 Estimate £'000
Operational Boundary	20,000	20,000	20,000	20,000	20,000	20,000

34. The Prudential indicators for debt discussed are shown in the table below:

Prudential Indicators
Description	2020/21 £'000	2021/22 £'000	2022/23 £'000	2023/24 £'000	2024/25 £'000	2025/26 £'000
External Debt	-	4,965	7,378	7,271	7,161	7,048
Authorised Limit	25,000	25,000	25,000	25,000	25,000	25,000
Operational Boundary	20,000	20,000	20,000	20,000	20,000	20,000
Capital Financing Requirement	11,527	16,909	15,635	14,361	13,361	12,111

The Prudential Indicators for Affordability

35. Affordability indicators provide details of the impact of capital investment plans on the Council’s overall finances.

a) Actual and estimates of the ratio of net financing costs to net revenue stream

36. This indicator identifies the trend in net financing costs (borrowing costs less investment income) against net revenue income. The purpose of the indicator is to show how the proportion of net income used to pay for financing costs (a credit indicates interest earned rather than cost) is changing over time. The trend below reflects the decision to temporarily remove the voluntary element of the amount charged to revenue in 2022/23 and 2023/24, to set aside a provision for repaying external borrowing. Treasury investments will benefit in the interim years despite non-treasury capital commitments in the Crematorium and Bingham Hub.

Proportion of Financing Costs to Net Revenue Stream
Description	2020/21 Estimate	2021/22 Estimate	2022/23 Estimate	2023/24 Estimate	2024/25 Estimate	2025/26 Estimate
General Fund	5.88%	5.45%	7.53%	7.54%	4.99%	6.99%

Investment Strategy 2020/21 to 2025/26

37. The movement in investments are due to increases in capital receipts related to Sharphill and S106 receipts as shown below.

Investment Projections
Description	2020/21 Estimate £'000	2021/22 Estimate £'000	2022/23 Estimate £'000	2023/24 Estimate £'000	2024/25 Estimate £'000	2025/26 Estimate £'000
Investments at 31 March	26,457	20,752	25,986	26,956	27,966	27,516

38. Both the CIPFA Code and the MHCLG Guidance require the Council to invest its funds prudently, and to have regard to the security and liquidity of its investments before seeking the highest rate of return. The Council’s objective when investing money is to strike an appropriate balance between risk and return, minimising the risk of incurring losses from defaults and the risk of receiving unsuitable low investment income. Accordingly, the Council ensures that robust due diligence procedures cover all external investments.

39. The Council will not knowingly invest directly in businesses whose activities and practices pose a risk of serious harm to individuals or groups, or whose activities are inconsistent with the Council’s Corporate Objectives and values. This would include avoiding direct investment in institutions with material links to:

Human rights abuse (e.g. child labour, political oppression);
Environmentally harmful activities (e.g. pollutants, destruction of habitat, fossil fuels); and
Socially harmful activities (e.g. tobacco, gambling).

40. The Council will keep under review the sensitivity of its treasury assets and liabilities to inflation and will seek to manage the risk accordingly in the context of the whole of the Council’s inflation exposures.

41. The Council will invest its surplus funds with approved counterparties. Where appropriate, the Council is registered as a professional client (under “MIFID II”) with the counterparty limits shown below and counterparties included at Appendix (i):

Counterparty Details
Credit Rating	Banks* Unsecured	Banks* Secured	Government	Corporates	Registered Providers
UK Government	not applicable	not applicable	£ unlimited 20 years	not applicable	not applicable
AAA	£3.0m 3 years	£10.0m 10 years	£10.0m 20 years	£3.0m 10 years	£5.0m 10 years
AA+	£3.0m 2 years	£10.0m 10 years	£10.0m 5 years	£3.0m 4 years	£5.0m 4 years
AA	£3.0m 1 year	£10.0m 4 years	£10.0m 3 years	£3.0m 2 years	£5.0m 4 years
AA-	£3.0m 1 year	£10.0m 2 years	-	-	£5.0m 4 years
A+	£3.0m 6 months	£10.0m 2 years	-	-	£5.0m 2 years
A	£3.0m 6 months	£10.0m 1 year	-	-	£5.0m 2 years
A-	£3.0m 3 months	£10.0m 6 months	-	-	£5.0m 2 years
Pooled Funds**	£10m per fund	£10m per fund	£10m per fund	£10m per fund	£10m per fund

*Banks includes Banks and Building Societies.

**Pooled funds do not have a defined maturity date. Monies in Money Market Funds can be withdrawn on the same date; monies in other pooled funds can be withdrawn giving the requisite notice, generally between 1 and 7 days.

Monies in the CCLA Property Fund can be withdrawn on each monthly redemption date, if required; it is the Council’s intention to hold its investment over a reasonable time frame for property investments, which is 5 years, subject to cash flow requirements.

42. Although the above table details the counterparties that the Council could invest funds with, it would not invest funds with counterparties against the advice of Link (our TM Advisors) even if they met the criteria above.

43. Changes to any of the above can be authorised by the Section 151 Officer or the Financial Services Manager and thereafter will be reported to the Governance Scrutiny Group. This is to cover exceptional circumstances so that instant decisions can be made in an environment which is both fluid and subject to high risk.

44. The Authority may incur operational exposures, for example though current accounts, collection accounts and merchant acquiring services, to any UK bank with credit ratings no lower than BBB- and with assets greater than £25 billion. These are not classed as investments but are still subject to the risk of a bank bail-in, and balances will therefore be kept below £2,000,000 per bank. The Bank of England has stated that in the event of failure, banks with assets greater than £25 billion are more likely to be bailed-in than made insolvent, increasing the chance of the Authority maintaining operational continuity.

45. Credit rating information is provided by Link on all active counterparties that comply with the criteria above. A counterparty list will be maintained from this information and any counterparty not meeting the criteria will be removed from the list.

46. Where an entity has its credit rating downgraded so that it fails to meet the approved investment criteria then:
•   no new investments will be made,
•   any existing investments that can be recalled or sold at no cost will be, and
•   full consideration will be given to the recall or sale of all other existing investments with the affected counterparty.

47. Where a credit rating agency announces that a credit rating is on review for possible downgrade (also known as “rating watch negative” or “credit watch negative”) so that it may fall below the approved rating criteria, then only investments that can be withdrawn [on the next working day] will be made with that organisation until the outcome of the review is announced. This policy will not apply to negative outlooks, which indicate a long-term direction of travel rather than an imminent change of rating.

Credit Risks

48. The CIPFA Treasury Management Code recommends that organisations should clearly specify the minimum acceptable credit quality of its counterparties; however they should not rely on credit ratings alone and should recognise their limitations. Full regard will therefore be given to other available information on the credit quality of the organisations, in which it invests, including credit default swap prices, financial statements, information on potential government support and reports in the quality financial press. No investments will be made with an organisation if there are substantial doubts about its credit quality, even though it may meet the credit rating criteria.

49. When deteriorating financial market conditions affect the creditworthiness of all organisations, as happened in 2008 and 2011, this is not generally reflected in credit ratings, but can be seen in other market measures. In these circumstances, the Authority will restrict its investments to those organisations of higher credit quality and reduce the maximum duration of its investments to maintain the required level of security. The extent of these restrictions will be in line with prevailing financial market conditions. If these restrictions mean that insufficient commercial organisations of high credit quality are available to invest the Authority’s cash balances, then the surplus will be deposited with the UK Government, via the Debt Management Office or invested in government treasury bills for example, or with other local authorities. This will cause a reduction in the level of investment income earned but will protect the principal sum invested.

Current Investments

50. The Council uses its own processes to monitor cash flow and determine the maximum period for which funds may prudently be committed. The forecast is compiled on a prudent basis to minimise the risk of the Council being forced to borrow on unfavourable terms to meet its financial commitments. Limits on long-term investments are set by reference to the Authority’s medium term financial strategy and cash flow forecast.

51. Surplus funds are invested based on the most up to date forecasts of interest rates and in accordance with the Council’s cash flow requirements in order to gain the maximum benefit from the Council’s cash position throughout the year. Funds are separated between specified and non-specified investments as detailed below.

Specified Investments

52. The MHCLG guidance defines specified investments as those:

•   Denominated in pound sterling,
•   Due to be repaid within 12 months of arrangements,
•   Not defined as capital expenditure by legislation, and
•   Invested with one of:
•   The UK Government
•   A UK local authority, parish council, or community council, or
•   A body or investment scheme of “high credit quality”

53. The Council now defines “high credit quality” organisations as those having a credit rating of A- and above.

54. Any investment not meeting the definition of a specified investment is classed as non-specified. The Council does not intend to make any investments denominated in foreign currencies, nor any that are defined as capital expenditure by legislation, such as company shares. Non-specified investments will therefore be limited to long-term investments, i.e. those that are due to mature 12 months or longer from the date of arrangement, and investments with bodies and scheme not meeting the definition on high credit quality. Limits on non-specified investments are shown in the following table:

Non-specified Investment Limits
Description	Cash Limit
Total long-term investments	£15m
Total investments without credit ratings or rated below A- (except UK Government and local authorities)	£5m
Total investments (except pooled funds) with institutions domiciled in foreign countries rated below AA+	£3m
Total non-speficied investments	£15m

55. The Authority's revenue reserves available to cover investment losses in a worst-case scenario are forecast to be £18.7 million on 31st March 2021. The maximum that will be lent to any one organisation (other than the UK Government) will be £10.0 million. This figure is constantly under review to assess risk in the case of a single default. A group of banks under the same ownership will be treated as a single organisation for limit purposes. Limits will also be placed on fund managers, investments in brokers’ nominee accounts, foreign countries and industry sectors as below. Investments in pooled funds and multilateral development banks do not count against the limit for any single foreign country, since the risk is diversified over many countries.

Investment Limits
Description	Cash Limit
Any single organisation, except the UK Central Government	£10m each
UK Central Government	Unlimited
Any group of organisations under the same ownership	£10m per group
Any group of pooled funds under the same management	£10m per manager
Negotiable instruments held in a broker’s nominee account	£10m per broker
Foreign Countries	£3m per country
Registered providers	£5m in total
Unsecured investments with any building society	£3m in total
Loans across unrated corporates	£5m in total
Money Market Funds	£30m in total

56. The Council measures and manages its exposures to treasury management risks using the following indicators.

a) Interest Rate Exposure

57. This indicator is set to control the Authority’s exposure to interest rate risk. The upper limits on fixed and variable rate interest rate exposures, expressed as the amount of net interest payable will be:

Interest Rate Exposure
Category	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23	2023/24	2024/25	2025/26
Transformation Savings	50%	50%	50%	50%	50%	50%
Service Efficiencies	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%100%

58. Fixed rate investments and borrowings are those where the rate of interest is fixed for at least 12 months, measured from the start of the financial year or the transaction date if later. All other instruments are classed as variable rate.

Principal Sums Invested over one year

59. This limit is intended to contain exposure to the possibility of any loss that may arise as a result of the Council having to seek early repayment of any investments made. The limits on the long-term principle sum invested to final maturities beyond the period end are set at 50% of the sum available for investment (to the nearest £100k), as follows:

Principal sums invested over one year
Description	2020/21 Estimate £'000	2021/22 Estimate £'000	2022/23 Estimate £'000	2023/24 Estimate £'000	2024/25 Estimate £'000	2025/26 Estimate £'000
Limit on Principal Invested over one year	13,200	10,400	13,000	13,500	14,000	13,800

Policy on the use of financial derivatives

60. Local authorities have previously made use of financial derivatives embedded into loans and investments both to reduce interest rate risk (e.g. interest rate collars and forward deals) and to reduce costs or increase income at the expense of greater risk (e.g. LOBO loans and callable deposits). The general power of competence in Section 1 of the Localism Act 2011 removes much of the uncertainty over local authorities’ use of standalone financial derivatives (those that are not embedded into a loan or investment).

61. The Council will only use standalone financial derivatives (such as swaps, forwards, futures and options) where they can be clearly demonstrated to reduce the overall level of the financial risks that the Authority is exposed to. Additional risks presented, such as credit exposure to derivative counterparties, will be taken into account when determining the overall level of risk. Embedded derivatives, including those present in pooled funds and forward starting transactions, will not be subject to this policy, although the risks they present will be managed in line with the overall treasury risk management strategy.

62. Financial derivative transactions may be arranged with any organisation that meets the approved investment criteria. The current value of any amount due from a derivative counterparty will count against the counterparty credit limit and the relevant foreign country limit.

Treasury Management Advisors

63. Link Asset Services will act as the Council’s treasury management advisors until 31 October 2022. The company provides a range of services which include:

•   Technical support on treasury matters and capital finance issues
•   Economic and interest rate analysis
•   Generic investment advice on interest rates, timing and investment instruments; and
•   Credit ratings/market information service comprising the three main credit rating agencies.

64. Whilst the treasury management advisors provide support to the internal treasury function, the current market rules and the CIPFA Treasury Management Code confirms that the final decision on treasury management matters rests with the Council. The service provided by the Council’s treasury management advisors is subject to regular review.

Member and Officer Training

65. The increased member consideration of treasury management matters and the need to ensure that officers dealing with treasury management are trained and kept up to date requires a suitable training process for members and officers. In general, members training needs are reported through the Member Development Group, however, the Council will also specifically address this important issue by:

Periodically facilitating workshops for members on finance issues;
Interim reporting and advising members of Treasury issues via GSG;

With regards to officers:

Attendance at training events, seminars and workshops; and
Support from the Council’s treasury management advisors;
Identifying officer training needs on treasury management related issues through the Performance Development and Review appraisal process.

Other Options Considered

66. The MHCLG Guidance and the CIPFA Code do not prescribe any particular treasury management strategy for local authorities to adopt. The Executive Manager – Finance and Corporate Services, having consulted the Cabinet Member for Finance, believes that the above strategy represents an appropriate balance between risk management and cost effectiveness. Some alternative strategies, with their financial and risk management implications, are listed below.

Investment strategy
Alternative	Impact on Income and Expenditure	Impact on Risk Management
Invest in a narrower range of counterparties and/or for shorter times	Interest income will be lower	Lower chance of losses from credit related defaults, but any such losses may be greater
Invest in a wider range of counterparties and/or for longer times	Interest income will be higher	Increased risk of losses from credit related defaults, but any such losses may be smaller

Commercial Investments

67. The definition of investments in CIPFA’s definition of treasury management activities above (paragraph 19) covers all financial assets of the organisation as well as other non-financial assets which the organisation holds primarily for financial returns, such as investment property portfolios. This may therefore include investments which are not managed as part of normal treasury management or under treasury management delegations. All investments require an appropriate investment management and risk management framework, which is outlined below.

68. The Council's committed to becoming self-sustainable as Central Government funding reduces. This previously included ensuring that the Council maximised any income from existing assets and, where there was a business case, investing in assets where there was a commercial return. PWLB will no longer allow Local Authorities to borrow if they invest ‘primarily for yield’. The Council has historically held significant capital funding resources, but these have been committed to major schemes and, going forward, it may need to undertake external borrowing. Current resources are invested with various financial institutions in line with the Treasury Management Strategy.

69. In recent years, the Council identified specific sums for its Asset Investment Strategy within the Capital Programme which totalled £20m. This included commercial investment in areas such as property and subsidiaries, or loans that supported service outcomes. Of the £8.382m balance at the start of the year, £4.554m was committed to two acquisitions of Business Units in West Bridgford. The purchase of Unit 1 Edwalton Business Park was completed 9 July for £2.083m and Unit 3 Edwalton Business Park was completed 13 October for £2.449m. These were reported to Governance Scrutiny Group in November 2020. The balance £3.828m will be referred to Council for removal from the Programme and will not require funding.

70. The Council will maintain a summary of current material investments, subsidiaries, joint ventures and liabilities, including financial guarantees (i.e. Streetwise) and the organisation’s risk exposure. The current summary is included at Appendix (ii).

71. Individual commercial investment proposals included within the Asset Investment Strategy are subject to specific business appraisals. The governance surrounding such decisions is included in the AIS. As well as considering the Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return and impact on the General Fund of any commercial investment proposals, the decision to invest also takes into account the following assessment matrix:

Asset Assessment Matrix
Assessment Criteria	Excellent / Very Good	Good	Satisfactory	Marginal	Uncertain
Tenancy strength	Multiple tenants with strong financial covenant	Single tenant with strong financial covenant	Single or multiple tenants with good financial covenant	Tenants with average financial covenant	Tenants with poor financial covenant
Lease length and break (for main tenants / income)	11 to 15 years	8 to 10 years (10 year lease)	5 to 7 years (5 year lease)	Less than 5 years or vacant
Rate of return - % rent against capital	Greater than 8%	7% to 8%	5% to 7%	3% to 5%	Less than 3%
Portfolio mix (asset type is balanced in portfolio - no more than x% of portfolio)	Less than 50%	50% to 60%	60% to 70%	70% to 80%	Over 80% of portfolio
Property Sector and Risk	Industrial (lower risk)	Office (lower-mid risk)	Warehouse Retail (medium risk)	Retail, Leisure (higher risk)	Residential (not part of investment strategy)
Void (after lease end including marketing, fit out and rent free)	0 to 9 months	9 to 12 months	12 to 18 months	18 to 24 months	Over 24 months
Location	Prime	Not prime but in an established location	Secondary	Remote from other developments	Isolated, undeveloped area, limited infrastructure links
Tenure	Freehold	Lease over 200 years	Lease 100 to 199 years	Lease 75 to 99 years	Lease less than 75 years
Repairing terms links to building quality	Full repairing and insuring	Internal repairing 100% recoverable	Internal repairing partially recoverable	Internal repairing non-recoverable	Landlord
Building Quality / Age	Less than 10 years	10 to 20 years	21 to 30 years	31 to 35 years	Over 35 years
Rental Growth	Within one year	Within 2 to 5 years	Within 5 to 7 years	Within 7 to 10 years	Over 10 years
Purchase Price	Less than £2m	Between £2m and £3m	Between £3m and £4m	Between £4m and £7m	Over £7m
Proximity to Borough	Within Borough	Within Nottinghamshire	Within East Midlands	Within the Midlands	National
Energy Rating (2018 legislation can't let with F/G assessment)	A/B	C	D	E	F/G

72. To be considered for investment 50% of the criteria above must be excellent, good or satisfactory.

73. The matrix above is supplemented by additional contextual information covering resale opportunities (liquidity), location, risks, benefits and economic conditions.

74. The Government has issued revised guidance on Local Government Investments, effective from April 2018. This guidance introduces additional disclosure requirements some of which are specific to investments of a commercial nature. These disclosures and indicators cover items included in the Council’s Asset Investment Strategy, as well as pre-existing commercial investments and are detailed below:

a) Dependence on commercial income and contribution non-core investments make towards core functions

75. The expected contributions from commercial investments included in the Asset Investment Strategy are shown in Table 13. In order to manage the risk to the Council’s budget, income from commercial investments should not be a significant proportion of the Council’s income. Our objective is that this ratio should not exceed 30%, subject to annual review (as demonstrated below).

Commercial Investment income and costs
Category	2020/21 £'000	2021/22 £'000	2022/23 £'000	2023/24 £'000	2024/25 £'000	2025/26 £'000
Commercial Property Income	(1,557)	(1,660)	(2,015)	(2,160)	(2,240)	(2,302)
Running Costs	618	516	517	517	517	517
Net Contribution to core functions	(939)	(1,144)	(1,499)	(1,644)	(1,724)	(1,786)
Interest from Commercial Loans	(83)	(89)	(80)	(72)	(63)	(60)
Total Contribution	(1,022)	(1,233)	(1,579)	(1,716)	(1,787)	(1,846)
Sensitivity: +/- 10% Commercial Property Income	156	166	202	216	224	230
Indicator: Investment Income as a percentage of total Council income	20%	22.8%	24.7%	23.9%	24.3%	24.6%
Total Income	8,209	7,669	8,500	9,341	9,485	9,590

b) Risk exposure indicators

76. The Council can minimise its exposure to risk by spreading investments across sectors and by avoiding single large-scale investments. Generally there is a spread of investment across sectors. The Council’s commitment to economic regeneration (not purely financial return) has meant that many of its investments have been in industrial units, which have been very successful.

Income spread by sector:

Industrial sites - 41%
Offices - 36%
Retail - 10%
Other - 7%
Commercial loans - 6%

c) Security and liquidity

% Split by Asset Value (number of investments)

Under £500k - 13% (23)
£500k to £1m - 16% (5)
£1m to £2m - 28% (5)
£4m to £5m - 15% (1)
Over £7m - 28% (1)

77. Commercial investments are held for longer term asset appreciation as well as yield. Investments or sales decisions will normally be planned as part of the consideration of the 5-year capital strategy to maximise the potential return. Nevertheless, the local and national markets are monitored to ensure any gains are maximised or losses minimised.

78. To help ensure asset values are maintained the assets are given quarterly inspections, together with a condition survey every 3 years. Any works required to maintain the value of the property will then form part of Council’s spending plans.

79. The liquidity of the assets is also dependent on the condition of the property, the strength of the tenants and the remaining lease lengths. The Council keeps these items under review with a view to maximising the potential liquidity and value of the property wherever possible.

80. The liquidity considerations for commercial investments are intrinsically linked to the level of cash and short-term investments, which help manage and mitigate the Council’s liquidity risk.

81. The Investments are subject to ongoing review with regards to their financial viability or indeed whether they are surplus to requirement.

Appendix (i)

Counterparty Registrations under MIFID II

The Council is registered with the following regulated financial services organisations who may arrange investments with other counterparties with whom they have themselves registered:

BGC Brokers LP
Royal London Asset Management
Tradition UK Ltd
King & Shaxson
Aberdeen Asset Management
Aviva
Institutional Cash Distributors Ltd
Federated Investors (UK) LLP
NEX Treasury
Invesco Asset Management Ltd
CCLA
Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Black Rock
HSBC Asset Management
Imperial Treasury Services

Appendix (ii)

Asset Valuations
Asset	Current Book Value £'000	Previous Book Value £'000
The Point Office Accommodation	4,017	3,200
Hollygate Lane, Cotgrave Industrial Units	2,709	2,435
Bardon, Single Industrial Unit	1,800	1,800
Trent Boulevard	1,407	1,400
Colliers Business Park Phase 2	1,315	1,250
Bridgford Hall Apart Hotel and Registry Office	1,214	1,220
Finch Close	0,959	0,925
Boundary Court	0,816	0,805
Unit 10 Chapel Lane	0,677	0,670
Colliers Business Park Phase 1	0,721	0,610
New Offices Cotgrave	0,452	0,345
Mobile Home Park	0,476	0,330
Cotgrave Precinct Shops	0,500	0,450
Total Investment Property - Values are at 31 March 2019 and 2020	17,063	15,440
Notts County Cricket Club Loan	1,775	1,775
Total	18,838	17,215

Glossary of Terms

CCLA Property Fund - this a local authority property investment fund. The property fund is designed to achieve long term capital growth and a rising income from investments in the commercial property sector.

Covered Bonds – these investments are secured on the bank’s assets, which limits the potential losses in the unlikely event of insolvency, and means they are exempt from bail-in.

Financial Derivatives – A financial contract that derives its value from the performance of an underlying asset.

LIBID – London Inter Bank Bid Rate. The rate at which banks are willing to borrow from other banks.

Money Market Funds – these funds are pooled investment vehicles consisting of money market deposits and similar instruments. They have the advantage of providing wide diversification of investment risks.

Pooled Funds – shares in diversified investment vehicles consisting of different investment types including banks, equity shares and property, these funds have the advantage of providing wide diversification of investment risks.

Appendix 6 Use of Earmarked Reserves

Earmarked Reserves
Description	Projected Opening Balance £'000	Projected Income £'000	Projected Expenditure £'000	Net Change in Year £'000	Ref	Projected Opening Closing £'000
Investment Reserves	-	-	-	-	-	-
Regeneration and Community Projects	1,721	188	(50)	138	1	1,859
Sinking Fund - Investments	179	271	(450)	(179)	2	0
New Homes Bonus (NHB)	8,420	1,633	(1,074)	559	3	8,979
Corporate Reserves	-	-	-	-	-	-
Organisation Stabilisation	7,176	0	(4,777)	(4,777)	4	2,399
Climate Change Action	800	0	0	0	-	800
Development Corporation	400	0	0	0	-	400
Risk and Insurance	100	0	0	0	-	100
Planning Appeals	350	0	0	0	-	350
Elections	100	50	0	50	5	150
Operating Reserves	-	-	-	-	-	-
Planning	209	0	(78)	(78)	6	131
Leisure Centre Maintenance	7	0	0	0	-	7
Total	19,462	2,142	(6,429)	(4,287)	-	15,175

Notes:

Net £138k being the movement on this reserve to support Special Expenses capital schemes.
£271k from Investment Property income to support future capital expenditure. £450k used for enhancement works at The Point and Manvers Business Park.
£1.633m Receipts; MRP release: Arena £1.012m and Cotgrave Redevelopment £62k.
£4m release of S31 Grant Surplus needed in 21/22; £753k to meet the in-year budget deficit and £24k release of Council Tax reimbursement payment.
£50k to replenish the Elections Reserve.
£78k release for Local Plan Examinations.

Appendix 7 - Pay Policy Statement 2021/22

1. Introduction

1.1 This Statement sets out the Council’s policies in relation to the pay of its workforce, particularly its Senior Officers, in line with Section 38 of the Localism Act 2011. The Statement is approved by full Council each year and published on the Council’s website demonstrating an open and transparent approach to pay policy.

1.2 This Statement draws together the Council’s policies relating to the payment of the workforce particularly:

Senior Officers
Its lowest paid employees; and
The relationship between the pay of Senior Officers and the pay of other employees

1.3 For the purposes of this statement ‘pay’ includes basic salary, pension and all other allowances arising from employment.

2. Objectives of this Statement

2.1 This Statement sets out the Council’s key policy principles in relation to pay evidencing a transparent and open process. It does not supersede the responsibilities and duties placed on the Council in its role as an employer and under employment law. These responsibilities and duties have been considered when formulating the Statement.

2.2 This Statement aims to ensure the Council’s approach to pay attracts and retains a high performing workforce whilst ensuring value for money. It sits alongside the information on pay that the Council already publishes as part of its responsibilities under the Code of Practice for Local Authorities on Data Transparency. Further details of this information can be found on the Role and Remuneration webpage.

3. Senior Officers

3.1 The Localism Act sets out a definition of Senior Officers for the purposes of pay policy statements. Applying that definition to roles at Rushcliffe Borough Council, the following 10 posts from an overall current establishment of 259, would be included:

Chief Executive
Executive Manager – Finance and Corporate Services (Section 151 Officer)
Executive Manager - Transformation
Executive Manager - Neighbourhoods
Executive Manager - Communities
Service Manager – Finance and Commercial
Service Manager – Transformation
Service Manager – Neighbourhoods
Service Manager – Communities
Borough Solicitor & Monitoring Officer

4. The Policies

4.1 The Council consults when setting pay for all employees. The Council will meet or reimburse authorised travel, accommodation and subsistence costs for attendance at approved business meetings and training events. The Council does not regard such costs as remuneration but as non-pay operational costs.

5. Pay of the Council’s Lowest Paid Employees

5.1 The Council has defined its lowest paid employees as those on the lowest pay point of the Council’s pay and grading structure, excluding apprentices. On this basis the lowest paid full-time equivalent employee of the Council earns £17,841. The hourly rate of this salary, at £9.25 is above the National Living Wage which is currently £8.72 per hour for employees aged 25 or over and exceeds the National Minimum Wage maximum of £8.20 for employees aged 21-24. From 1 April 2021, these statutory rates will be increasing to £8.91 and £8.36 per hour respectively.

5.2 The Council does not explicitly set the pay of any individual or group of posts by reference to a pay multiple. The Council feels that pay multiples cannot capture the complexity of a dynamic and highly varied workforce in terms of job content, skills and experience required. In simple terms, the Council sets different levels of basic pay to reflect differences in levels of responsibility.

5.3 The Head of Paid Service, or her delegated representative, will give due regard to the published Pay Policy Statement before the appointment of any Officers. Full Council will have the opportunity to discuss any appointment exceeding £100,000 before an offer of appointment is made, in line with the Council’s Officer Employment procedure rules within Part 4 of the Council’s Constitution.

6. Additional Payments Made to Chief Officers – Election Duties.

6.1 The Chief Executive is nominated as the Returning Officer. In accordance with the national agreement, the Chief Executive is entitled to receive and retain the personal fees arising from performing the duties of Returning Officer, Acting Returning Officer, Deputy Returning Officer or Deputy Acting Returning Officer and similar positions which he or she performs subject to the payment of pension contributions thereon, where appropriate.

6.2 The role of Deputy Returning Officer may be applied to any other post and payment may not be made simply because of this designation. Payments to the Returning Officer are governed as follows:

for national elections, fees are prescribed by legislation;
for local elections, fees are determined within a local framework used by other district councils within the county. This framework is applied consistently and is reviewed periodically by lead Electoral Services Officers within Nottinghamshire. This includes proposals on fees for all staff employed in connection with elections. These fees are available for perusal on the Council’s website.

6.3 As these fees are related to performance and delivery of specific elections duties, they are distinct from the process for the determination of pay for Senior Officers.

Appendix to the Pay Policy -Policies on other aspects of pay

Process for setting the pay of Senior Officers

The pay of the Chief Executive is based on an agreed pay scale which is agreed by Council prior to appointment. Changes to this are determined by the Leader, Deputy Leader and Leader of the Opposition, who are advised by an agreed external professional and the Council’s Strategic Human Resources Adviser. This pay scale is subject to pay awards which are negotiated nationally by the JNC for Chief Executives of Local Authorities.

The pay of all Officers including Senior Officers is determined by levels of responsibility, job content and the skills and experience required. Consideration is also given to benchmarking against other similar roles, market forces and the challenges facing the authority at that time and to maximise efficiency. The pay of these posts is determined through the Chief Executive, or her nominated representative, in consultation with the Council’s Strategic Human Resources Adviser and in line with the Council’s pay scales and its agreed scheme of delegation.

The Council moved away from the national conditions of service in 1990 and pay scales are set locally.

As with all employees, the Council would look to appoint on the best possible terms to secure the best candidate for the job. However, there are factors that could influence the rate offered to an individual, including the relevant experience of the candidate, their current rate of pay and market forces.

All Senior Officers are expected to devote the whole of their service to the Authority and are excluded from taking up additional business, ad hoc services or additional appointments without consent as set out in the Councils code of conduct.

Terms and Conditions

All employees are governed by the local terms and conditions as set out in the Employee handbook.

Local Government Pension Scheme

Every employee is automatically enrolled into the Local Government Pension Scheme. Employer and employee contributions are based on pensionable pay, which is salary plus, for example, shift allowances, bonuses, contractual overtime, statutory sick pay and maternity pay as relevant.

For more comprehensive details of the local government pension scheme see: Local Government Pension Scheme and Nottinghamshire Pension Fund

Neither the scheme nor the Council adopt different policies with regard to benefits for any category of employee and the same terms apply to all staff. It is not normal Council policy to enhance retirement benefits but there is flexibility contained within the policy for enhancement of benefits and the Council will consider each case on its merits.

Car Allowances

The Council pays mileage rates at HMRC recommended rates.

Pay Increments

Where applicable pay increments for all employees are paid on an annual basis until the maximum of the scale is reached. The Chief Executive, or her nominated representative, has the discretion to award and remove increments of officers’ dependant on satisfactory or unsatisfactory performance.

Relocation Allowance

Where it is necessary for a newly appointed employee to relocate to take up appointment, the Council may make a contribution towards relocation expenses. The same policy applies to Senior Officers and other employees. Payment will be made against a range of allowable costs for items necessarily incurred in selling and buying a property and moving into the area. The costs include estate agents’ fees, legal fees, stamp duty, storage and removal costs, carpeting and curtains, short term rental etc. The Council will pay 80% of some costs and 100% of others or make a fixed sum available. If an employee leaves within two years of first employment, they may be required to reimburse a proportion of any relocation expenses.

Professional fees

The Council currently meets the cost of professional fees and subscriptions for employees where it is a requirement of their employment or their contract.

Returning Officer Payments

In accordance with the national agreement the Chief Executive is entitled to receive and retain the personal fees arising from performing the duties of returning officer, acting returning officer, deputy returning officer or deputy acting return officer and similar positions which he or she performs subject to the payment of pension contributions thereon, where appropriate.

Fees for returning officer and other electoral duties are identified and paid separately for local government elections, elections to the UK Parliament and EU Parliament and other electoral processes such as referenda. As these relate to performance and delivery of specific elections duties, they are distinct from the process for the determination of pay for Senior Officers.

Managing Organisational Change Policy

The original Managing Organisation Change Policy was agreed by Council in March 2007 (revised 2010). The Council’s policy on the payment of redundancy payments is set out in this policy. The redundancy payment is based on the length of continuous local government service which is used to determine a multiplier which is then applied to actual pay.

The policy provides discretion to enhance the redundancy and pension contribution of the individual and each case would be considered taking into account individual circumstances. Copies of the policy are available on the Council’s website.

The policy is subject to review to ensure it is compliant with any new legislation and regulations which affect redundancy payments.

Payments on termination

The Council does not provide any further payment to employees leaving the Council’s employment other than in respect of accrued leave which by agreement is untaken at the date of leaving or payments that are agreed or negotiated in line with current employment law practices.

Publication of information relating to remuneration of Senior Officers

The Pay Policy Statement will be published annually on the Council’s website following its approval by full Council each year.

Gender Pay gap reporting

The Council publishes its Gender Pay Gap information annually on the Council’s website and on the Government's website.

Pay Multiple

The pay multiple is defined as the ratio between the highest paid taxable earnings for the given year (including base salary, variable pay, bonuses, allowances and the cash value of benefits-in-kind) and the median earnings figure of the whole of the Council’s workforce. This information is shown on the pay multiple webpage.

Budget and Financial Strategy 2021-22